 Hey, Psych2Goers. Thank you for all of the love and support that you've given us. Psych2Go's aim is to make psychology and mental health more accessible to everyone. And before we begin, we wanted to thank Brilliant for sponsoring this video. Brilliant is an educational online platform that aims to make learning math and science fun and stress-free. If you're interested, watch till the end for a promotion. Childhood is an important developmental time in our lives. The things you experience as a child often stick with you well into adulthood. Habits are learned. Relationships often repeat themselves. And every big change we encounter leaves a lasting impact. Our childhood experiences affect our view of the world and where we stand in it. Unfortunately though, not everyone grows up in a stable and supportive household. Some children experience abuse or are victim to poverty, bullying, illness, or discrimination. So here are five examples of how your childhood affects your mental health. One, childhood is an essential time for brain development. Between early childhood and puberty, the brain's development allows for complex thought process as well as the internalizing of experiences. Children typically begin to spend time with their peers at school over socializing only with their immediate family at home. According to Mental Health America, as children begin to figure out their place among others, they also start to understand the rules of the world as well as their individual moral compass. Two, your relationship with your caregivers sets up all future relationships. As a child, you learn about other people and how to interact with them through your experiences with caregivers. The kind of relationship you develop, whether secure or unstable, is usually the lens through which you approach all future relationships. For example, the National Child Traumatic Stress Network notes, children who do not have healthy attachments have been shown to be more vulnerable to stress. They have trouble controlling and expressing emotions and may react violently or inappropriately to situations. Our ability to develop healthy, supportive relationships with friends and significant others depends on having first developed those kinds of relationships in our families. A child with a complex trauma history may have problems in romantic relationships, in friendships and with authority figures such as teachers or police officers. Three, unhealthy emotional processing lasts into adulthood. Studies show that when children experience trauma or prolonged stress, it changes the way they process their emotions. For example, a child with a dismissive parent may learn to act out or throw a tantrum in order to get their needs met. Clinical psychologist Katie McLaughlin, PhD, argues that these changes in emotional regulation, including elevated emotional reactivity, decreased emotional awareness and unhealthy coping habits allows the effects of childhood stressors to stick with you while into adulthood. Childhood is full of changes. Do you remember feeling overwhelmed on your first day of school? Do you still cringe at some of the phases you went through in middle school? Childhood and adolescence are full of scary and embarrassing changes. The Mental Health Foundation of the UK reminds us that even though these changes may be exciting, they do take a toll on young minds. Puberty is a huge change and it leaves a physical, hormonal and emotional impression on you. As your body changes, so does your relationship with yourself and others. Friends drift apart, romantic interest peaks and we begin to figure out who we are and where we belong in our social groups. And five, the correlation between bullying in childhood and mental illness in adults. If you've been bullied as a child, it's usually not difficult to recall the fear, anxiety or low self-worth that you experienced as a result. Surprisingly though, a team run by Dr. Suzette Tanya Lorea found that childhood bullying is likely to affect you long into adulthood. Their 2015 study included children from the US and the UK and they discovered that children who were bullied by their peers were more likely to experience anxiety or depression as an adult. This part of the video is sponsored by Brilliant. Brilliant is an online learning platform that's revolutionized the way we learn math and science. As Stephen Covey said, be patient with yourself. Self-growth is tender, it's holy ground. There's no greater investment. Brilliant helps you make that investment in growth. They break down concepts into manageable pieces and help you see concepts visually and intuitively. Each of their courses present clear thinking in each part and then built up to a fascinating conclusion. I strongly recommend you go to brilliant.org slash like to go to sign up for free. The first 200 people that sign up will also get 20% off their annual subscription. Did you find this video insightful? What was your childhood like? Let us know in the comments below. If you enjoyed watching this video, give us a thumbs up and share it with someone who might find it helpful too. The studies and references used are listed in the description below. Don't forget to hit the subscribe button and the notification bell icon for more site to go content. And as always, thanks for watching. We'll see you next time.